Hexaflu News

-- Your habits just before you slip into bed could be sabotaging your night of sleep. The National Sleep Foundation says do NOT: Take any over-the-counter medications that contain pseudoephedrine, found in common cold medicines, which can keep you awake. Opt for a nighttime formula that may help you feel drowsy. Text, watch TV or spend time on the computer shortly before bed. Take a hot shower or bath just before bed. It's best to do so about an hour before you plan to sleep, as that gives your body temperature time to drop again. Indulge in a greasy, fattening, salty bedtime snack, which can be stimulating and trigger nightmares. Drink caffeine beyond the morning, as it can stay in your system for as long as 12 hours. Read more

TUESDAY, Sept. 27, 2016 – New research in mice suggests that tiny nanoparticles might one day be a better way to deliver medicine to inflamed joints in humans. The therapy may reduce the risk of osteoarthritis in people who have suffered joint injuries, the study authors said. About 12 percent of osteoarthritis cases stem from previous joint injuries. The experimental treatment may also benefit people who already have osteoarthritis, according to the study team from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. While nonprescription painkillers – such as acetaminophen (Tylenol) and ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) – help reduce the pain of joint injuries, they don't stop cartilage destruction caused by inflammation. "I see a lot of patients with osteoarthritis, and there's really no treatment," study senior author Dr. Christine Pham, an associate professor of medicine, said in a ... Read more

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 17, 2016 – Acetaminophen does not worsen asthma symptoms in young children, a new study finds. Acetaminophen (Tylenol, Panadol) and ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) are often used to treat pain and fever. Some previous research has suggested that frequent use of acetaminophen may worsen asthma in kids with the respiratory condition. To investigate, researchers studied 300 children between the ages of 1 and 5 with mild, persistent asthma, which is defined as having symptoms more than two days a week, but not daily. All of the children used daily inhaled treatments to manage their asthma. During the study, they received either acetaminophen or ibuprofen to treat pain or fever. The small percentage of kids whose asthma symptoms worsened was about the same with both medications, according to the study published in the Aug. 18 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. The ... Read more

MONDAY, Aug. 15, 2016 – Pregnant women who take acetaminophen – best known as Tylenol – might raise the risk that their child will develop behavioral problems such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a new study suggests. Acetaminophen is generally considered safe in pregnancy – so safe, in fact, that at least two-thirds of women turn to it while expecting, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians. But when pregnant women in Britain used the pain reliever, it appeared to increase the risk of behavior problems cropping up in their children by the time they turned 7, said lead researcher Evie Stergiakouli, a lecturer in genetic epidemiology at the University of Bristol. Still, the study couldn't prove cause-and-effect, and Stergiakouli believes that women should still take the drug if needed. In the study, taking acetaminophen between 18 and 32 weeks in ... Read more

MONDAY, May 23, 2016 – Legions of arthritis sufferers try physical therapy and anti-inflammatory drugs to no avail. Now, a new study looks East for relief – to the martial art tai chi. Researchers concluded that tai chi offers an alternative to physical therapy for common knee osteoarthritis – and it might also boost well-being. This ancient Chinese exercise may particularly benefit overweight older adults, the researchers said. Heavier people are more likely to develop osteoarthritis than people with a healthy weight, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "This research strengthened the evidence that the effectiveness and durability of both tai chi and physical therapy extend to obese older adults with knee osteoarthritis," said Dr. Chenchen Wang. "Such people typically face limited options due to ineffectiveness of osteoarthritis treatments," Wang said. ... Read more

THURSDAY, March 17, 2016 – Acetaminophen – commonly known as Tylenol in the United States – isn't an effective choice for relieving osteoarthritis pain in the hip or knee, or for improving joint function, a new study finds. Although the drug rated slightly better than placebo in studies, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) or diclofenac are better choices for short-term pain relief, the researchers said. "Regardless of dose, the prescription drug diclofenac is the most effective drug among painkillers in terms of improving pain and function in osteoarthritis," said lead researcher Dr. Sven Trelle. He's co-director of clinical trials at the University of Bern in Switzerland. However, even diclofenac comes with side effects. "If you are thinking of using a painkiller for osteoarthritis, you should consider diclofenac," Trelle said, but also ... Read more

-- While fever is part of the body's defense against illness, it doesn't mean having one is a comfortable experience. To help deal with the symptoms of fever, the University of Portland suggests: Take ibuprofen or acetaminophen. Never give a child aspirin. Soak in a warm or tepid bath to help bring down a fever. Don't take a cool or cold bath. Drink plenty of fluids. Get immediate treatment for complications of fever, such as seizure, difficulty breathing, delirium, severe headache with stiff neck, or fever of 104 degrees or higher. Read more

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 10, 2016 – Pregnant women who take the painkiller acetaminophen – best known under the brand name Tylenol – may be more likely to have a child with asthma, new research suggests. Although the study wasn't designed to prove cause-and-effect, researchers found that prenatal exposure to the over-the-counter medicine was associated with an increased risk for asthma in children. However, the study authors and a U.S. expert agreed that the effect seen in the study doesn't yet warrant any change in guidelines regarding pain relief during pregnancy. In the study, Norwegian researchers tracked data from a large database – the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study. The investigators focused on conditions during pregnancy for which some expectant mothers took acetaminophen, and compared that data against rates of asthma among 114,500 children as they reached the ages of 3 and ... Read more

MONDAY, Jan. 25, 2016 – Many people with chronic pain ignore dosing instructions on over-the-counter pain medicines and put themselves at risk for an overdose, a new survey suggests. An overdose of these medicines can result in serious side effects, such as stomach bleeding, ulcers, liver damage and even death, according to the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA). The AGA-commissioned poll of more than 1,000 U.S. adults aged 30 and older and 251 gastroenterologists found that 43 percent of chronic pain sufferers said they knowingly have taken more than the recommended dose of an over-the-counter (OTC) pain medicine at some point. Common types of OTC pain medicines include acetaminophen (Tylenol) and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), naproxen (Aleve) and aspirin. "Pain is incredibly personal, but taking more than the recommended ... Read more

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 13, 2016 – Infants are just as susceptible to accidental poisonings as older children are, especially when it comes to medication errors, new research reports. A decade of poison control center calls in the United States showed that acetaminophen (such as Tylenol) was the most common medication mistake for infants. This was followed by H2-blockers (for acid reflux), gastrointestinal medications, combination cough/cold products, antibiotics and ibuprofen (such as Motrin or Advil). The most common non-medication exposures were diaper care and rash products, plants and creams, lotions and make-up, the investigators found. "I was surprised with the large number of exposures even in this young age group," said lead author Dr. A. Min Kang, a medical toxicology fellow at Banner-University Medical Center Phoenix in Arizona. "Pediatricians typically do not begin poison ... Read more

THURSDAY, Dec. 10, 2015 – X-rays don't detect hip arthritis in many patients, resulting in delayed diagnosis and treatment, researchers report. The researchers looked at information from almost 4,500 Americans taking part in two arthritis studies. In one study, only 16 percent of patients with hip pain had X-ray evidence of osteoarthritis in the hip and only 21 percent of those with X-ray evidence of arthritis had hip pain. In the other study, the rates were 9 percent and 24 percent, respectively, according to the findings reported recently in the journal BMJ. "The majority of older subjects with high suspicion for clinical hip osteoarthritis did not have radiographic hip osteoarthritis, suggesting that many older persons with hip osteoarthritis might be missed if diagnosticians relied on hip radiographs to determine if hip pain was due to osteoarthritis," said study corresponding ... Read more

TUESDAY, Oct. 20, 2015 – Naproxen – a drug available over-the-counter and by prescription – appears to provide as much relief for low back pain as a narcotic painkiller or a muscle relaxant, a new study suggests. The study compared the use of prescription-strength naproxen (Naprosyn) alone to the use of naproxen with the narcotic painkiller oxycodone with acetaminophen (Percocet), or the muscle relaxant cyclobenzaprine (Amrix). Patients who took a combination of drugs fared no better than when they took naproxen alone, the researchers said. "Acute low back pain is a frustrating condition," said lead researcher Dr. Benjamin Friedman, an associate professor of emergency medicine at Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City. Many patients have already taken over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as naproxen (Aleve) ... Read more

TUESDAY, Sept. 8, 2015 – Fewer children are winding up in emergency rooms for accidental poisonings involving commonly used medications, a new U.S. government study finds. "We think these declines are real," said lead researcher Maribeth Lovegrove, of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's division of healthcare quality promotion. Between 2004 and 2013, approximately 640,000 children aged 5 and younger were seen in emergency rooms for ingesting drugs. Of these, 70 percent were 1- or 2-year-olds, and nearly one in five were hospitalized, according to the report. The number of pediatric emergency room visits rose during the early 2000s, peaking at approximately 76,000 in 2010, but declined to approximately 59,000 visits in 2013, Lovegrove said. While there has been a decline in emergency room visits, 59,000 visits a year for young children is still too many, Lovegrove ... Read more

-- If you're not getting enough sleep, it could be due to your activities before you hit the hay. The National Sleep Foundation warns against: Taking medications that contain pseudoephedrine, a stimulant. If you need relief from cold or allergy symptoms, opt for an antihistamine designed for night-time use. Don't watch TV, work at a computer or use a tablet or smartphone. Light from these screens can over-stimulate your brain. Opt for a book or music instead. Don't take a hot bath just before bed. Bathe at least an hour before so your body has time to cool off before sleep. Don't go to sleep with a full belly, especially if it's loaded with foods high in fat and salt. Don't drink beverages that contain caffeine after the morning. Caffeine can stay in your system for up to 12 hours. Read more

-- Drinking alcohol may be unsafe for some people, because it can interact with some medications. The Cleveland Clinic mentions these examples: Aspirin and alcohol may increase the risk of stomach bleeding. Antihistamines may make you very drowsy when combined with alcohol. Large amounts of the painkiller acetaminophen can cause liver damage when combined with alcohol. Some laxatives and cough syrups already contain alcohol. Some antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications, painkillers and sleeping pills may cause serious interactions when combined with alcohol. Read more